Wreck-lifting device.



A. R. BISSETT.

WRBGK LIFTING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED DEO.19, 1914.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

KW/ N58858:

l/V VE/V TOR 1 A TTORNEVci A. R. BISSETT.

WREOK LIFTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 1030.19, 1914.

Patented Feb..23, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

WITNESSES: IN I/E/V TOR THE NORRIS PETERS CD, PHOm-LITHQ. WASHINGmlfI,D. C.

ALFRED R. BISSETT, OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA,

WRECK-LIFTING- DEVICE.

ll,l29,376.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application filed December 19, 1914.. Serial No. 878,049.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED R. BISSETT, a citizen of the Dominion ofCanada, residing at Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia,Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVVreck-Lifting Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the means for liftingsubmerged wrecks, of that class wherein a series of ropes or chains arepassed from one or more floating vessels, around the submerged wreck,which ropes or chains are drawn tight and made fast during low tide, sothat as the tide rises and lifts the floating vessel or vessels thesubmerged wreck is lifted with them in these slings, and may be towedinto shoal water, the process being repeated until the vessel is beachedor is within a depth that it may be worked on during low water to fit itfor removal to a dry dock; or where the rise and fall of the tide is notsufficient, or cannot be depended upon to eflect the lifting of thewreck within the required time, the displacement of the floating vesselsmay be increased and diminished to effect the lifting of the wreck. Indealing in this manner with vessels of any size, the strains imposed onthe slinging ropes or chains are considerable and such as necessitatevery heavy provision for attachment of them to the floating vessel andin the means by which the ropes are tightened.

The invention comprisesthe arrangement of the tightening windlasses ofeach rope in such a manner, that the ends of the lifting ropes passclose to one another to their respective tightening windlasses whereby,when the ropes havebeen tightened, a clamping device may be applied toconnect the two ends together. Thus, when the lift takes place theweight of the submerged. vessel is suspended in a series of closedslings which pass over the floatable vessel and the tighteningwindlasses are relieved of all strain due to the lift. The invention isparticularly described in the following specification, reference beingmade to the drawings by which it is accompanied, in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross section of the deck of the floating salvage scowwith the tightening windlasses of one wire rope sling. Fig. 2 is a planof the same. Fig. 3 is a section showingthe application of theolevice inits simplest form to effect the lifting of a submerged wreck. Fig. 4, anenlarged detail in cross section of the rope tightening wedges, andFigs. 5 and 6, a plan and end elevation showing the application of thedevice where two or more floating lifting scows are used.

In these drawings 2 represents the hull of a submerged ship and 3 afloating vessel from which a series of slings 4 of chain or wire ropeare passed under the submerged wreck 2. One end of each sling 4 isconnected to a tightening Windlass 5 of any approved design, whichWindlass is located on the opposite side of the floating vessel to thatover which the attached end of the sling cord descends and passes underthe wreck, and the other end of the sling cord passes in a similarmanner over the other edge of the scow to a tightening Windlass 6located on the opposite side. These two windlasses 5 and 6 located asthey are on opposite sides of the middle line of the floatable vesselare in substantially the same plane so that the two ends of the sling asthey pass to their respective windlasses are side by side and thisenables a clamping device 7 of any suitable character to be applied tosecure the ropes or chains together where they pass one another to theirrespective tightening windlasses. With this arrangement, if the slack ofall the slings 4 i is taken in by the windlasses and the two ends ofeach are clamped together during extreme low' water, or while thefloating vessel 3 has its maximum displacement, as

the tide rises, or as the displacement of the floating vessel isreduced, the lifting of the floating vessel 3 will lift the wreck'2suspended in the several slings.

It must be distinctly understood as forming a distinctive feature ofthis invention that the slings are, by the clamping of the two endstogether, practically converted into closed slings passing over the deckof the floating vessel, and the weight of the lift comes entirely onthem as such and is distributed over the entire structure of the decktimbers of the floating vessel without attachment to it, and thetightening windlasses 5 and 6 are thus entirely relieved of the tensionimposed on the ropes by the lift of the floating vessel whether by therising tide or by the reduction of the displacement of the vessel. Thedeck timbers and adjacent structure of the floating vessel are kspecially strengthened to stand this load and each sling 4: is retainedin alinement with its windlasses by flanged steel shoes 12 secured oneach corner where the rope passes over it, which shoes are curved to anample radius to save the wire rope from undue stress, the ends of theshoe being supported by a chordal web or webs 13.

Without departing from the spirit of this invention, one end of eachsling may be anchored to the deck of the floating vessel instead ofbeing connected to one of the tightening windlasses, so long as theropes pass one another in a manner to enable the clamping device to beapplied and save the anchorage from the wreck lifting strain: but thetightening of the slings can be more effectively performed if a Windlassis provided for each end of the rope.

In practice, when all the slings 4 have been tightened and clamped, andthe weight of the submerged wreck is on them, settlement of the wreck inthe slings may leave some of the slings tighter than others, and thateach may have its due proportion of the Weight of the wreck the slackslings may be tightened by introducing under them a flanged bearingplate 14 with opposed wedges 15. The required tightness of the slingscan readily be ascertained by striking them.

As stated, the clamping device may be of any suitable kind that willeffect the connection of the two ropes together with a minimum of slipunder strain. In the drawing the clamping is shown as effected by astandard wire rope screw clamp applied to grip the two ropes togetheradjacent each end of one or more edge grooved elliptical pieces insertedbetween the ropes. This forms a very effective clamp but one will bepreferred in which the clamping of each rope can be performed in onemovement.

Figs. 5 and 6 show the preferred application of the closed slingprinciple where one or more of the floating vessels are ranged on eachside of the wreck to be lifted. In such case the rope tighteningwindlasses 5 and 6 may be all on the floating vessel or vessels whichare ranged on one side of the wreck, and the several ropes 4 pass fromthe windlasses 5 across the floating vessel 3 and down and under thewreck, then up and over the floating vessel 8 on the opposite side ofthe wreck and down and under the wreck again and pass up over theopposite side of the floatable vessel to their windlasses 6 on theopposite side. Thus, when the slings have been tightened by thewindlasses and clamped, and the floating vessels 8 and 8 lift with thetide or by their reduced displacement, the wreck to be lifted lies inthe double bight of each closed sling. Where the floatable vessels areranged on each side of the Wreck it will be found advisable to applystruts 10 between them to prevent them closing together under thetendency of the floatable vessels to equalize the tension on the ropeswhen the ropes might injure the wreck.

By the simple expedient of securing the ends of the lifting ropestogether and converting each into a closed sling, in the single ordouble bight of which sling the submerged wreck may be lifted, the plantand the operation of salvaging under such conditions is simplified andcheapened, as the windlasses by which the ropes of the sling aretightened need only be sufficiently powerful to effect the tightening ofthe ropes, as when the ends are clamped together the windlasses areentirely free from all strain due to the lift.

No claim is made on the means for lifting a wreck by lines passed undera wreck and connected to a floatable vessel or vessels which lift withthe tide or by a reduc tion of their displacement; but where this systemhas been used heretofore the ropes have been either made fast towindlasses or to some portion of the structure of the floating vessel,so that the strain is localized in its connection thereto, while in thedevice hereinbefore described the strain is almost entirelyself-contained in the several closed slings, and is by them distributedgenerally over the deck structure of the floatable vessel, withoutdirect connection of the ropes thereto.

Having now particularly described my invention, I hereby declare thatwhat I claim as new and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is:

1. A wreck lifting device, comprising a flexible line passing from afloatable body down and under the wreck to be lifted, means for exertinga tension on the flexible line, and means for securing the two ends ofthe line together to form a closing sling While that tension is 011them.

2. A wreck lifting device, comprising a flexible line passing from eachside of a floatable body down to and under the wreck to be lifted thetwo ends of the line being parallel and close to one another on thefloatable body, means for exerting a tension on the line, and means forclamping the two parts of the line together where they are parallel onthe floatable vessel.

3. A wreck lifting device, comprising the combination with a floatablevessel, of a series of windlasses arranged in pairs one on each side ofthe middle line of the vessel in transverse lines, a flexible lineconnected to each Windlass on one side of the middle line and passingacross and over the side of the floatable vessel opposite to that onwhich is the Windlass to which it is connected, each line passing underthe sub- 1,129,376 tilt merged wreck and up to and over the oppositeside of the floatable vessel and connected to the other Windlass towardthe other side of the middle line, and means for securing together thetwo parts of each sling where they parallel one another between eachpair of windlasses.

4. A wreck lifting device, comprising the combination with a floatablebody, of a series of flexible lines passed therefrom down to and underthe wreck the two ends of each line passing over opposite sides of thefloatable body so that it parallels itself thereon, means for imposing atension on each line, and means for securing each line together where itparallels itself, and means for varying the tension on individual linesafter they have been clamped and the weight of the wreck is on them.

5. A wreck lifting device, comprising the combination with a floatingvessel, of a flexible line one end of which is connected to the upperside of the floatable vessel be tween the middle line of the vessel andthen passes across the deck of the vessel and down over the oppositeside to and under the submerged wreck and up to and over the oppositeside of the floatable body to that on which it went down, means forimposing a tension on the sling, and means between the securing means ofthe two ends of the sling for clamping the lines together.

6. A wreck lifting device, comprising the combination with a floatablevessel having along each side a series of flanged metal shoes each shoecurved to an ample radius and securely bedded on the deck reinforcingtimbers of the vessel the shoes of one side in transverse alinement withthose of the other, a Windlass on each side of the middle line of thevessel between each pair of shoes, a flexible line connected to one ofeach pair of windlasses and passing over the shoe on the opposite sideof the vessel and down to and under the submerged wreck and up and overthe other shoe of each pair to the other Windlass of each pair, a clampsecuring each flexible line to itself where it parallels itself betweenthe windlasses, a grooved plate between each rope and the deck timbersof the vessel and opposed wedges between the plate and the deck timbers.

7. A wreck lifting device, comprising the combination with a floatablevessel ranged one on each side of a submerged wreck, a flexible linepassing across the deck of the vessel on one side of the wreck and underthe submerged wreck, each end of the line connected to a Windlass on theopposite side of the other floatable vessel to that over which itpasses, means for clamping the two portions of each line togetherbetween the windlasses, and double wedges applied under each line on thefloatable vessel which the loop of the line passes over.

In testimony whereof I afi'ix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED R. BISSETT.

Witnesses ROWLAND BRITTAIN, MAY WHYTE.

Eopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

